There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The elderly Village Chief, at the ripe age of seventy, slept at the innermost part of the kang bed, while Xu Shuo lay on the other end, on the outer side, both covered with simple cotton cloth quilts without any cotton filling.

Based on the frequency of his breaths, the Village Chief seemed to still be awake.

The night was clear, with sparse stars.

This place was halfway up the mountain, where the sounds of insects and birds could occasionally be heard, the mosquitoes particularly numerous.

And through the thin walls opposite, noises often arose from the kitchen, as if some small animal were rummaging through things.

Xu Shuo lay neatly on the kang, hands placed in front of his waist, eyes closed as he pretended to sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

It felt so long that he thought he might actually fall asleep.

Suddenly, he vaguely heard a singing voice from somewhere.

The singing was faint and intermittent, with an ethereal echo, yet tinged with a mournful sadness. It seemed like singing, yet also like weeping.

Xu Shuo opened his eyes abruptly, sat up, and stared expressionlessly out the uncurtained window.

The cold moonlight filtered through the window lattice, scattering fragments of light across the floor.

At this moment, the Village Chief, seemingly alerted by the movement, quickly propped up his upper body and looked at him with a trace of alarm and uncertainty.

"What's the matter?" the Village Chief asked in a low voice.

"It's dark," Xu Shuo said.

"Then go to sleep," he replied.

"Get up and have some fun," Xu Shuo said.

"..." the Village Chief.

The young man was quite humorous.

But soon, the Village Chief realized that it wasn't just humor.

Ignoring the advice he had been given during the day, Xu Shuo got up from the kang, pulled the door bolt, and appeared ready to leave.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"

The aged Village Chief quickly got up nimbly, reached for his walking stick by the kang, and briskly walked over to Xu Shuo.

Xu Shuo looked at him, his eyes questioning.

"Ahem..." the Village Chief said wearily, "Didn't I tell you it's dangerous outside at night? Do you really expect this rusty old man to accompany you out and cause trouble?"

"You can stay here and sleep," Xu Shuo said expressionlessly.

"Well, I'm worried about you. Your two uncles were resting in the kitchen during the day, check to see if they're still there," the Village Chief said.

When he had decided to spend the night here, the two house servants of the Village Chief's House had also stayed, but since Wang Tiezhu's house was too small, they had to take their bedding and spend the night in the kitchen.

After hearing this, Xu Shuo pulled open the door and went out.

The courtyard was very quiet.

Moonlight shone on the Osmanthus Tree in the corner of the wall, casting a deep, dark shadow below.

Approaching the middle of the month, the moon was quite round, and its bright moonlight was enough to make out the yard and the sight of the kitchen, where not a soul was present.

The kitchen door was open, but there was no one there.

"They're gone," Xu Shuo stated flatly.

"Child, can't you say more words?" the Village Chief stood at the front of the house door, peering towards the kitchen.

The kitchen had a door, but at this moment, it was wide open just like during the day, with only two bedsheets thrown open on the ground. There were impressions on the quilts, but not a person in sight.

Xu Shuo's gaze suddenly sharpened.

He quickly walked out of the courtyard, looking down the mountain.

The village below.

Was blooming.

...

White Osmanthus flowers fluttered in the air, very conspicuous under the moonlight, falling onto the road like white joss paper thrown during funerals.

And that mournful song was coming from down the hill.

Xu Shuo focused his attention, listening intently.

It seemed to be a woman singing—

"On the thirteenth of July, an auspicious day on the lunar calendar..."

"..."

Xu Shuo turned abruptly to the Village Chief at the door and asked, "Do you know where all the graves in the village are located?"

The Village Chief looked at him with a complex expression, "Staying here is the safest."

"Then you stay," Xu Shuo turned and left.

"Hey hey hey, why won't you listen to advice, child..."

Even as the Village Chief called out, his feet promptly began to move, following him. The walking stick in his hand was as if just for show, his old legs moving faster than Ergou.

Xu Shuo walked out of the courtyard and suddenly stopped, then turned back.

The Village Chief breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had changed his mind, "Hey, not going out is the right choice."

But Xu Shuo went into the kitchen, took down the firewood knife hanging on the wall, and then turned around and continued down the mountain.

This knife had once been suspected as a murder weapon; he had to carry it with him to prevent it from being taken away by someone and then having the blame for the crime placed on him again.

The Village Chief watched his retreating figure, wanting to say something but hesitated.

But what else could be done?

He could only continue to follow.

Because the safety zone in this script wasn't Wang Tiezhu's house, but Wang Tiezhu himself!

As soon as he entered the script, his mentor had given him a hint.

[The sincerest and simplest names are often the safest places.]

So was Ergou sincere and simple?

Extremely sincere!

There were all sorts of names like Big Dog, Three Dogs, Little Dog in the village!

But what made this 'Wang Tiezhu' different was that his name appeared in the Village Chief's character information, and there was quite a lot of it.

That was why the Village Chief immediately came looking for him.

No matter what, he had to secure his own safety first!

...

The path down the mountain was somewhat rugged.

But as the two were walking by the moonlight, Xu Shuo suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost causing the Village Chief following closely behind him to bump into him.

The Village Chief asked, puzzled, "Why are you not walking?"

Xu Shuo, with a calm expression, turned to look at the path they had come from, then looked up at the roof vaguely visible halfway up the mountain, and finally turned to the Village Chief.

He asked seriously, "Because I just remembered, you haven't told me where the graveyard is yet. I've lived in Osmanthus Village for so long and have never seen it."

The Village Chief said helplessly, "The graveyard is on the backside of the mountain where you live."

So what are you doing walking towards the village?

Xu Shuo paused, then nonchalantly averted his gaze, "Oh, actually what I really wanted to say just now was, we have encountered the ghost wall phenomenon, and I mentioned the graveyard just to bolster your courage."

The Village Chief: "???!"

The abrupt change of topic left the Village Chief standing there, stunned.

Xu Shuo pointed at a patch of grass in front of them on the mountain path, "We have passed this place three times already because this grass is growing out of a crack in the rock, so I took a closer look."

The Village Chief had been afraid of not keeping up with the young man's pace, so he had been focused on following Xu Shuo's figure and had not paid much attention to their surroundings.

Being abruptly alerted now, he scanned the vicinity again and finally felt a sense of eeriness.

No birds chirping, no insects singing.

The road was silent as if it were a realm of specters.

The singing in Xu Shuo's ears had also ceased, but the fluttering Osmanthus flowers below still stood out, enveloping the entire village in a white melancholy.

The Village Chief frowned: MMP, wasn't it said that Wang Tiezhu was the safety zone?

Could it actually be another dog?

But apart from encountering the ghost wall phenomenon, they hadn't come across anything else strange for the time being, at least there was no sense of crisis.

Xu Shuo simply stopped too, casually crossing his arms and tilting his head as he gazed down at the village, then suddenly spoke, "Let me ask you a question."

The Village Chief looked at him, "What question?"

"Is July 13th considered an auspicious day?"

"...That depends on what it's for."

"For a marriage?"

"...Kid, that's not popular."

"I see someone thinks it is."

Xu Shuo narrowed his eyes, turned his head towards the Village Chief with a flickering gaze, and slowly stepped forward, moonlight casting a layer of shadow beneath his brows and eyes.

At that moment, the Village Chief's entire body quivered with goosebumps, his expression also turned grave, his muscles tensing slightly.

Xu Shuo took a step forward and asked ominously, "Village Chief, what have you been following me for?"

The Village Chief instinctively took a half step back and forced a smile with difficulty, "Isn't it because I'm afraid of something happening to you, kid?"

"Why would the village be dangerous at night then?"

"Isn't it... because someone wants to harm you?"

"Village Chief, it seems you know quite a lot; whether we can get out of this ghost wall or not might just depend on how much you're willing to share." Xu Shuo looked at him expressionlessly.

He could be used by this person, but he wouldn't do so without getting something in return—that was the bottom line!

...